Take a look at those bracelets. They’re called Angelica’s Charity Bracelets, and each is handmade by the little girl above, Angelica. The proceeds from their sales benefit various children’s charities. She’s doing her part to help others; now here’s your chance. Each bracelet is $8 (shipping included to anywhere in the US, Canada, or overseas). You may order bracelets on her facebook page here.

Get yours in time for Christmas by ordering by December 9, if the shipping address is outside of the United States, or by December 16, if shipping anywhere inside the US.

These perfect little stocking stuffers are gifts that benefit everyone!

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Place the walnuts in a food processor for 30 seconds or until finely chopped.
3. Place the ground walnuts, flour and cinnamon in a bowl and combine.
4. Place the butter, sugar and vanilla extract in a standing mixer or bowl using a hand mixer and cream for 3-4 minutes.
5. Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until combined.
6. Using a cookie scooper, scoop out the dough and place on a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet.
7. Bake for 15 minutes.
8. Dust with confectioners' sugar and serve.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

It’s time to lace up your skates… ice skates, that is, and head on over to the corner of Spring and Market Streets, in Jeffersonville, IN, for some winter fun. You can find the Jeffersonville Ice Rink here on facebook. Here are all of the fun details:

Hours
Sunday-Thursday, 12 to 9pm
Friday- Saturday, 12 to 10pm

Cost
$8 per person
$6 per person for groups of 10 or more

Special Offers
Tuesdays-Eat Local Night- kids skate for $4 with same-day receipt from a Jeffersonville restaurant
Thursdays- Shop Local Night- Kids skate for $4 with same-day receipt from a locally-owned Jeffersonville shop
Fridays- Teen Night- DJ from 7 to 10pm
Sundays- Skate with Santa- 1 to 4pm

Here’s the best part… two people will each win a family four-pack of tickets to the Jeffersonville Ice Rink.

3 Ways to Enter (just leave a separate comment here for each):
1. Be a follower of Today’s Family Every Day (one entry)
2. Like the Jeffersonville Ice Rink on facebook (one entry)
3. Like Today’s Family on facebook (one entry)

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Today’s Family magazine will be presenting a “Family Challenge” article in each of the next four issues, each with a different family taking on a different challenge. The December/January issue’s challenge was “Vegan for a Week," and here’s a little something extra from it’s writer.

One of the lessons I took away from my “Vegan for a Week” challenge is that healthy eating doesn’t have to be hard. For example, lunch today consisted of spinach, baby carrots, avocado, pita bread (that I heated up by popping in the toaster), and hummus. Although store bought hummus is fine, I make my own. Essentially chickpeas, tahini, lemon, and garlic, hummus is easy to make, and kids love to help. Below are a few tips on making delicious homemade hummus:

• Even if your recipe says to use a food processor, use a blender. For some reason the food processor won’t get the texture creamy enough. Once I switched to using a blender, my results were much better.
• Add water as needed. Most recipes have water in tablespoon amounts, but if your hummus is too chunky, keep adding it, in small quantities, until the dip is smooth.
• Do you like garlic? Me too! I always add more than the recipe asks for. Not a garlic fan? Experiment with different flavors. Add red peppers, olives, parsley, or peanut butter.

With hummus exactly as you like it, a vegan meal isn’t difficult to put together. Although I’m not vegan, simple adjustments have taken root in my daily life as a result of the challenge; plus, a healthy lunch that tastes great, too. Who wouldn’t stick to that?

Could you go vegan for a week?

Contributed by Mali Anderson, parent-writer for Today’s Family magazine.

Monday, December 5, 2011

So what's new this holiday season?
Frankly, I'm less interested in starting anything new than backing off on some of the old stuff! But quite by accident, we may have the start of a new tradition at our house, if I'm lucky!

Fact: Our TV is going through a midlife crisis: it's having green flashes. My IT expert cousin says that the picture tube is about to go. (What's a picture tube, you ask? Something Moses invented, I think.)Fact: Finances at our house are tight this year. (Show me a house where they aren't!) Fact: My girls have outgrown making the 5-page “gimme” list, but they've not outgrown the desire to get stuff. Solution: There's going to be a TV under our tree this year - a "family present" - and not much else. (Although Santa and two Grandmas can still be depended on to come through!)

My girls have been warned, and they're remarkably cheerful about it; I think they are eager to watch something - anything - in which the entire cast isn't green-skinned Orion slave girls from Star Trek, the Original Series.

Voila! A new tradition. Maybe.

Wonder if my girls would go for the idea of a new sofa next year . . . ?